When Raymond Fenech went out on his usual fishing pilgrimage earlier this month he got much more than he bargained for.
At the break of dawn, some 30 miles west of Malta, he spotted a short-fin Mako shark trapped in his tuna fishing lines.
Before he knew it, Mr Fenech and his three fellow fishermen on board were bringing ashore one of the biggest sharks known to have been caught by a Maltese - weighing in at some 400 kilos and around four metres long.
"When we realised what was lurking beneath we were quite apprehensive. Realising it was still alive we tried to harpoon it and it turned fierce. But we had some good marksmen and eventually we hauled it out of the water," Mr Fenech told The Times with pride welling up in his voice.
Though sharks might be more renowned for their killer instinct, their meat is frequently found at fish shops (often going by the name pixxiplamtu), and many find it delectable. Shark meat may sell for up to Lm3 a kilo. But every relic of the fish made famous in the Jaws films, seems to be sought after. The jaws of the Mako shark caught on June 3 were sold for Lm126 after three fishermen bid for it.
Shark expert Alex Buttigieg - or Sharkman, as he is known - said the catch was absolutely no cause for bathers' concern, even if the Mako is considered to be the fastest moving fish in the ocean and is renowned for the way it leaps out of the water.
"The Mako is not a dangerous shark unless threatened, so much so that there have only been three known fatal attacks," Mr Buttigieg said.
"Normally such sharks stick to the open ocean and they rarely appear in the Mediterranean. Still, there is no reason for the Maltese to worry about. Sharks hardly ever approach the coast because they do not find enough food there," he said.
"We have to bear in mind that very few shark species are of any threat."
The public's perception is certainly different and shark encounters often send shivers down people's spines. The most publicised shark catch was that in 1987 when a six-metre Great White was caught off Filfla. A three-and-a-half metre shark was netted off Gozo in 1998. The last known large catch was made two years ago when a six-gill shark was caught off Filfla.Mr Buttigieg said the World Conservation Union red-list indicates that the Mako shark is a threatened species and should be protected, like the Great White shark.
In the past 10 years, the population of the short-fin Mako shark has dropped by 85 per cent.